Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the speech where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“This purposefully dishonest, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100% fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.”
The press secretary added: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars my day listening to their overt propaganda and lies about the president of the United States and all that he’s doing to make America better and the world a safer place."
Leaked Document Emphasizes Editing Problems
The publication said its coverage was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position recently and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage published read: "It was completely misleading to edit the clip in the way Panorama aired it. The fact that he did not explicitly exhort supporters to go down and fight at Capitol Hill was one of the reasons there were no federal charges for incitement to riot."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"Michael Prescott is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
